Ocrosrer 2,.1905 
4 7 
the ground and produce a handsome display 
of bloom in the way of annuals among your 
roses you can do it, but the queen of flowers 
will suffer, and I am speaking now of the plan to 
adopt for securing the best results. Beds may 
be arranged in shape and size according to one’s 
taste, or in such a way as surroundings will 
admit of. Longitudinal beds, however, are the 
‘most convenient, as providing facilities for 
inspecting the plants, and permitting of theland 
being easily culiivated from either side without 
the necessity of treading upon it. A convenient 
width is 4 or 5 ft, which permits of two rows of 
plants. If these are of dwarf habit 2 ft 6 in apart 
will give ample room—but for more vigorous 
growing qualities—Maman Cochet, for example 
—3 or 4 ft is not too much—you must remem- 
ber, however, that where space is limited a 
vigorous growing plant can always be kept 
within a moderate compass for pruning. To 
break the formal character of beds such as these 
pillar roses, or pegged down roses, may be 
planted in the centre at intervals. 
whatever may be the shape decided on, should 
be properly trenched to a depth of at least 2 ft, 
a good dressing of manure being incorporated 
with the bottom spit, which should not be 
brought to the top. In preparing the land, if 
you employ labor, see that it is done pro- 
perly. Have a reliable man to do the work who 
will obey instiuctions. Paths should of course 
be sufficiently wide to admit of the use ofa 
wheelbarrow without damaging the plants. - 
W. Pavt’s » 
advice as to the preparation of rose beds is— 
Too mnch care cannot be devoted to these, 
whether they be in the garden or elsewhere, for 
the future success of the plants depends upon 
this being properly done. If the soil be a good 
deep loam it should be well trenched, aud a 
liberal dressing of farmyard manure and_half- 
inch bones incorporated with it. Poor and light 
soils will be much improved by the addition of 
“some turfy loam, as well as the manure and 
bones. Heavy land, if the subsoil ke retentive, 
will require draining in the first instance, for 
although roses are very partial to a cool and 
moist bottom, they, like most other plants, will 
not thrive in that which is waterlogged ; but 
should the soil be stiff, and yet not so clayey as 
to require draining, the beds will be much im- 
proved ifsome burnt earth be mixed with it, as 
this will serve to keep the land pvrous and 
aerated. For this class of soil horse manure is 
preferable to either farmyard or cow manure. 
Let the beds be ready, if possible, by the end of 
the summer, so that the autumn rains may have 
a chance of settling the soil in them before the 
planting time arrives. 
In the Book of the Rose 
the author says—For me, beds must be made 
for the rose, and the rose alone. No mignonette 
or other annuals to hide the bare ground, since 
standards need not be more than 2 feet high in 
stem, and dwarfs should be close enough to do 
all the ground hiding required. Let there be 
rosebeds sacred to the rose, and let them all be . 
grown together in the very best situation to be 
found, for standards dotted about singly here 
and there by the side of the drive or in holes on 
the lawn are much more difficult to manage and 
care for properly than if they were all together 
“in prepared land. It is well known that you can 
feed 100 people much better and cheaper in pro- 
portion than you can one person. And so, if the 
rose is in a big bed with many others, the food 
can be applied with greater economy and effect, 
‘and the roots can find in any direction the same 
congenial proper soil and nourishment. Let the 
‘small man, if he be atrue rose lover and has a 
- mind. to produce them really well, harden his 
heart against all rival flowers, and go in practi- 
cally for rosesalone, In every department in life — 
a man has to be a specialist now if he wants to 
The beds, 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
succeed, and the rose will amply repay special 
devoted care. Thereare several examples among 
amateur rosegrowers of singlehanded men who 
either unceasingly superintend or do all the 
work with their own hands ; and most of these 
have not the smallest fear of meeting the best 
head gardeners in England in any class of the 
largest shows. This is by no meauis the fault of 
the head gardeners, even of such as have 
fifty men under them, but is simply because 
the rose requires undivided care through nearly 
the whole of the year, and they have such a 
multitude of other things to attend to that they 
cannot compete even with a singlehanded man 
who gives ‘all his time to his roses. 
As to the shape of beds, it seems evident 
that they should not be so wide as to necessitate 
treading upon the soil to reach and cut the 
blooms. This points to long and comparatively 
narrow beds, and when you have them there 
seems no escape from actual rows, following the 
shape of the beds, where straight or curved. 
Anything else would waste the precious room, 
for if the whole bed be made of the best soil and 
fed and manured equally, the room that will 
hold another plant is precious. Straight rows 
may be condemned as formal, and so they are; 
but they are thoroughly practical and econo- 
mical, and undoutedly the best for an exhibitor, 
who wants to be able to go over all his plants. 
‘easily and expeditiously. 
swat 
Operations for October. 
BY JAMES LANG. 
se RUNING and planting operations should 
‘now be concluded, and a start made with 
the ploughing of the orchard. Although the 
winter has been unusually damp and moist, with 
‘an abnormal number of wet days, no excessive 
quaniity of rain has fallen, and the land is now 
in splendid condition for working. As the days 
are drawing out, and drying winds are being 
experienced, moisture will soon evaporate from 
the soil, and it is therefore necessary, es; ecially 
in the early districts, that, ploughihg should be 
started as soon as possible in order to finish it 
in good time. 
Where it is intended to apply fertilisers to 
the orchard it should be done before ploughing. 
Some of the special orchard manures now upon 
the market should be used. These manures con- 
tain all the necessary ingredients for the pro- 
duction of fruit, and form a complete mannre. 
Old trees may now be headed back and re- 
grafted with varieties more suitable to market 
requirements. Great consideration should by 
given to to those varieties that do well in the 
different districts and are suitable for export. 
Growers now will have to depend more and 
more every year on the export to oversea 
market if the export is to be placed on a profit- 
able basis, and they should, therefore, study 
those export varieties that succeed well in their 
orchard, and gradually clear out the varieties 
that have become unprofitable. By this means 
they will in time put their orchard on a better 
commercial basis than. they have hitherto done. 
It is also-a good plan to rub the top of the stock 
with paint: r tar to exclude the wet; if this is . 
not done the surface of the stock soon com- 
mences to decay, and gradually the whole of the 
stock rots away. eo 
- Should moist weather continue the scab on 
apple and pear trees is likély to cause a deal of 
trouble in those districts where it has been pre- 
valent. Spraying with the Bordeaux mixture 
will have to be resorted to as soon as possible. 
Apricots that are attacked with shothole fungus 
should also be sprayed when the buds are burst- 
ing into leaf. Peach trees also will require 
attention for the Aphis, and should curl in the 
leaf make its appearance spray at once. 
7 WwW. J, ALLEN.’ f 
' In most of the drier districts it is best to see 
that’ all green crops are turned under this 
month, in order that they may become well 
rotted while there is still considerable moisture 
in the soil. “If'such crops are allowed to remain 
in until the land becomes dry it will be found — 
¢ 
Orc 
almost impossible to plough the soil, to say 
nothing of turning them under, and the chances. 
are that in place of doing good the opposite 
effect will result, as the moisture in place of 
being conserved will have been taken up by the 
crop, in consequence of which the soil will have 
become hardened, and when ploughing is 
attempted the ground will break apart in lumps 
and it will be found impossible to turn the crop — 
under, which will thus dry up instead of rotting 
as it should. If rain should not fall it will be 
- found almost impossible to bring the land toa 
proper tilth, jand owing to the absence of mois- 
ture in the soil the trees will in all probability 
suffer severely during the summer months, and 
the fruit will be of little value as it will be 
undersized and flavorless. Therefore in all dry 
climates see that crops intended for turning 
under as a green manure are not allowed to 
staud to long before being ploughed under. In — 
our coastal districts, where rains are of frequent 
occurrence, there is not the same probability of 
dry weather overtaking the fruitgrower, conse- — ; 
quently he can take more risks than can his. 
brother in theinterior. If the spring proves to 
be a wet one it is advisable to spray any trees 
which have in previous wet years shown signs 
of fungus diseases, such as Peach Curl on the 
peach tree, Black Spot or Scab of the apple, — 
Black Spot of the grape vine, and growers of the 
Gordo Blanco and Sultana will have to keep a 
sharp lookout and keep the spray pump going, 
else the crops will be lost. Bordeaux mixture 
is the best spray at this time of the year for all 
fungus diseases. Should the San Jose scale put 
in an appearance after the leayes have started 
on the tree, the resin, soda and fish oil wash 
will be found the best to use at this season of the © 
year. Never spray any trees or vines while 
they are in bloom, else the chances are the crop 
will be destroyed, They may be sprayed a week 
before coming into bloom and seven days after 
the bloom is set. 
Citrus trees may be pruned this month, and. 
there are many orchards which would be greatly 
benefited by receiving a thorough pruning. Do 
“not allow the lemon trees to grow high and ~ 
willowy, but rather remove those tall weak limbs 
which are so often found growing. up through 
the tops of the lemon trees, and keep the tree 
lower, when it will be found much easier to 
spray, fumigate, and pick the fruit from it. — 
Oranges and mandarins are generally benefited — 
by a cleaning out from the centre of all super- 
fluous and worthless limbs, twigs, etc. be iio 
“In every case, see that the orchard is in — 
thorough condition in every respect, as the 
future crop depends so much on theconditionin = 
which the trees and soil are kept during the 
spring and summer months. See to it, there- — 
fore, that no blame can attach to youjif they do 
not make a good start. SA raeneTabie! LE cg 
4 f Seems kta hint 2 
